Down Memory Lane for Oct. 2

April 25, 1974

Clarence Baldwin, of Washington, has been appointed by Judge Rayner V. Snead to Rappahannock County’s Board of Supervisors. Baldwin will represent Hampton district, filling the seat vacated by J. Newbill Miller, who resigned April 5. The new supervisor opposed Miller for the seat in 1972. Miller won by a single vote, following a recount. Baldwin had won by one vote when the returns were first counted.

Jenny Dodson and her son Lloyd start “merkel hunting” each spring, around the end of March. “Usually right after they spray the apple trees the first time. Funny things to go by, isn’t it? But it works out that way now,” she said. “Merkels” is what Mrs. Dodson calls them, but the word couldn’t be found in any dictionaries. Apparently, it’s a regional word for “morels.” Both are a form of fungus, and like mushrooms, sprout up within hours and (at least sometimes) are edible. Whatever the name, they’re harder to spot than a mushroom. Sometimes they barely nose their way out of the deep mulch of decaying leaves and logs lying atop the forest floor.

Bruce Stringfellow Bowie, owner of Bowie Printing Company in Culpeper, died Tuesday (April 23). Mr. Bowie, 66, was born at Ashleigh near Elkwood, Va. He was a member of the Washington Baptist Church, and it was here that he established the Rappahannock News in 1949 and served as its publisher until 1956.

Feb. 3, 1983

The only full medic unit in the county is now ready to roll at the Flint Hill firehouse. The advance life support system on wheels was financed in part through grants for the vehicle from the Rescue Squad Assistance Fund and for cardiac monitoring equipment from the federal government, administered through the planning district’s Emergency Services Council. “Flint Hill having this is a direct result of a lot of hard work from Kenny Pullen and support from the company and the community,” said Flint Hill fireman Frankie Huff. The ambulance will run with any unit in the county that requests assistance. Currently, Flint Hill has two certified cardiac technicians with three additional volunteers now taking training.

Circuit Court Judge Thomas Horne last week named a Fairfax attorney as special prosecutor in the Kidwell case. Steven Merrill will replace Rappahannock Commonwealth’s Attorney Douglas Baumgardner, who disqualified himself on the grounds of potential conflict. In stepping down on advice from the Virginia Bar, Baumgardner explained that the issue of potential conflict arose from the possibility that he may be called as a material witness in the trial.

Seniors sold over 1,600 candy bars as a fundraising project for future trips. They celebrated last week with a special cake and awards for the top sellers. They are Alice Pullen sold the most bars (422); Lucy Hodgson and Nellie Sisk tied for second; and Evelyn Porter placed third. Betty Jo Allison coordinated the event.

Nov 11, 1992

The flea market at the Sperryville Emporium has closed for the season, and its fate next year is undecided. In previous years, the vendors have kept their tables up nearly to Thanksgiving, but not this year. The end came earlier than most had planned, following a nudge from John McCarthy, the county’s zoning administrator. He wrote to Maurice O’Bannon, owner and operator of the emporium, in late October, informing O’Bannon that the existing use level on the emporium’s lot did not meet the county’s zoning requirements.

A 12-year-old boy was found uninjured late Monday morning near the base of Old Rag Mountain, almost two days after he became separated from his hiking companions. Donald Wentz of Partlow, Va., near Fredericksburg, was found walking along the Weakley Hollow fire road with an unidentified hiker by park ranger Robert Fleming. The ranger said the youth seemed so calm it took him a moment to realize he was the lost boy who more than 100 searchers, including five dog teams, were looking for.

A new restaurant has opened just west of Sperryville. J.D. and Debbi Hartman of Warrenton have found a new home for their catering business in the building formerly occupied by the Horseshoe Hills restaurant. The Hartmans have been operating a catering service in the area for five years, bringing their barbeque pit on a trailer to the party and cooking food on the spot. That business will continue, they said, but they hope more people will come to know their special brand of barbecue at the restaurant about a mile and half west of Sperryville on U.S. 211.

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